Places & Spaces Exhibition: urban realm and development on the Crossrail route

Crossrail will change London’s landscape. It is the first transport project in the UK, on this scale, to propose public spaces and above ground property developments that are integrated with station designs to improve the user experience for the travelling public when it fully opens in 2019.

The Places & Spaces exhibition incorporates current design proposals for the urban realm and developments outside stations along the Crossrail route.

The route will run across 40 stations with 10 new stations and upgrades to several existing ones. These designs will be subject to review and revision as they are refined in the coming months.

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Gallery - selection of Crossrail urban realm proposals

Above the Canary Wharf Crossrail station Canary Wharf Group is developing four floors of retail space and a publically accessible roof garden, topped by a semi-open spectacular timber lattice roof, designed by Foster + Partners. It will also feature enhanced pedestrian and vehicle access between Canary Wharf and Poplar.

The design proposes unifying spaces outside the station into a coherent area. The entrance plaza on Woodgrange Road will see improved pedestrian access with widened walkways. At the main junction the left turn on to Forest Lane will be removed, providing extra space for people to walk to the station. The carriageway will be resurfaced in granite setts and wider crossings will encourage traffic calming and ease of use by pedestrians. The scheme also aims to create a new public transport hub by connecting modes of transport. Convenient cycle parking will be provided by spaces on Woodgrange Road and a secure cycle hub just off Woodgrange Road. There will be a taxi stand for pick-up and drop-off.

The proposed design scheme aims to give the area a new identity. A new station entrance plaza is planned on Leytonstone Road. The scheme will provide significantly improved pedestrian access with widened walkways and reduced dominance of vehicles. New paving will calm traffic with granite setts applied to all crossing points and to the section of the highway that links the two main public spaces. The removal of the existing roundabout will improve the transport interchange. Also proposed is new cycle parking, a taxi stand, pick-up and drop-off point, and wayfinding integrated with a public transport interchange. New trees will soften the urban landscape.

The existing Tottenham Court Road station is being rebuilt to accommodate Crossrail and the new ticket hall will be six times the size of the original. A pedestrian crossing between the piazza and a new landscaped space in Sutton Row will create a direct and legible walking route between St Giles, Centre Point and Soho Square to the west.

The permanent entrance to the station on Whitechapel Road will see a larger station forecourt with feature paving. Improvements will also be made to Court Street, which will be pedestrianised, and the carriageway raised to create a safer walking route.

Whitechapel Station - architects impression of station entrance urban realm_139049

The urban realm proposal connects the station to new green space, the Royal Arsenal development and the town centre. A spacious and inviting space for pedestrians will be established along the generous station forecourt running the length of the eastern side of the square. This step-free public area will be composed of high-quality natural stone and clear and logical pedestrian routes will connect pedestrians to Woolwich Town Centre.

The proposals will maximise the area available to pedestrians and create a prominent and generous forecourt to the station entrance. High-quality granite paving will extend into the station concourse. Four diagonal crossing points will be introduced on Hanover Square with adjacent footways in matching materials. Where Tenterden Street joins Hanover Square there will also be new lighting, seats and signage. Cycle parking will be provided at several locations in the square and taxi bays are relocated closer to the station.

Ilford Station - architects impression of proposed urban realm_139014

The proposed designs provide a high-quality, generous station forecourt and an improved transport interchange, a widened and realigned main crossing outside the station on Cranbrook Road for greater pedestrian convenience and a more efficient layout of bus stops. The orientation of the new bus shelters together with wider footways will help to reduce congestion for pedestrians and queuing for passengers.